US Stocks Turn Higher, Some Financials Still Down

AnnelenaLobb

Markets turned around after an early slide into negative territory as gains for companies like Wal-Mart Stores and Caterpillar helped pull blue chips higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dug itself out of an early decline and was recently up 22 points at 7978. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 837, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1% to 1536, shaking off a disappointing earnings release from Cisco Systems, which was up by 0.8% after stumbling out of the starting gate.

Wal-Mart shares advanced by 4.2%, leading the Dow, after the discount giant posted better-than-expected January sales. Retail results were generally grim last month, but Wal-Mart has benefited as consumers seek out bargains amid a growing squeeze from rising unemployment and falling home values.

Buyers began to come into the market around 10 a.m. EST, said Mark Lestrange, a trader with Source Trading, picking up select financial and technology names. The S&P 500's financial sector advanced 0.2% after dropping sharply early; the tech sector was up 1.3%.

Some financial stocks were still sliding, however. Bank of America, which on Wednesday plummeted to its lowest level since Nov. 1, 1990, was down 8.1%. Washington is expected to unveil next week a plan to relieve banks of soured assets, and financial stocks have been very volatile in the interim. Bank of America rivals Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase slipped more than 1% each.

Investors "are crushing Bank of America," said Jonathan Corpina, senior managing partner at Meridian Equity Partners. "It's the same thing we saw in the other banks a few months ago. It's the same movie."

The markets mostly shrugged off more grim economic data. The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits soared above 600,000 last week, reaching its highest level since the 1982 recession. Also, factory orders tumbled for a fifth consecutive month in December and a barometer of capital spending fell. But investors are likely looking ahead to Friday's monthly jobs report, which many expect to show another sharp drop in headcounts.

Interest-rate decisions from central banks overseas were also a focus for Wall Street. The Bank of England cut rates by one half a percentage point to 1%, while the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged. The FTSE 100 fell 1.2%, while the DJ Stoxx 50 was off 0.7%.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only.
Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.